1. The Field of the Invention
Generally, this invention relates to architectural walls. More specifically, the present invention relates to architectural walls that allow for selective adjustment relative to a ceiling, floor, or both.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Architects and interior designers often use walls to separate space within an indoor environment, such as a home, an office, or another building. Some indoor environments have raised floor structures that are lifted above a floor surface. For example, some office buildings may include raised floors that lie above a sub floor. Similarly, some indoor environments may have suspended ceilings that are hung or suspended from a ceiling. One advantage of having raised floors and/or suspended ceilings is that they provide space for power cables, communication cables, and other unsightly hardware between the raised floor and sub floor or between a suspended ceiling and a ceiling. Thus, suspended ceilings and raised floors can hide cables, HVAC, or other building infrastructure from view.
Securing an architectural wall within an indoor environment that has a raised floor and a suspended ceiling can be challenging. For example, suspended ceilings and raised floors may not provide sufficient structural support to be used as anchor points for top and/or bottom ends of an architectural wall. Thus, architectural walls may extend below a raised floor to be anchored to a floor and/or above a suspended ceiling to be anchored to a ceiling.
While a floor and a ceiling may provide adequate structural support for anchoring a top and/or bottom end of an architectural wall, using a floor and/or a ceiling as anchor points has its own challenges. Channels that house opposite ends of an architectural wall may be cut out of or attached to a floor and/or ceiling. Unfortunately, it can be difficult or even impossible to perfectly align such channels or even walls within the channels.
Thus, there are a number of problems with architectural walls that can be addressed.